Vinyl tile and laminate flooring is attractive, durable, and long-lasting, even under a home’s highest-traffic conditions, but the product is certainly not indestructible. Fortunately, cleaning vinyl flooring is a fairly straightforward and inexpensive process, and with proper care, it’s easy to maintain the material’s eye-catching appearance. The first step is to try minimizing dirt, stains, and abrasions before they occur. Over time, dirt and dust can wear down and degrade the finish on any type of flooring, including vinyl tile or laminate; therefore it is always a good idea to situate a good-quality doormat or area rug in front of doorways so that grit and grime don’t migrate into the house. Another helpful hint is to use a sheet of plywood or paneling any time you need to move furniture across the floor; this will help prevent scuff marks or tears in the vinyl. You also may want to use vinyl coasters under the feet and legs of your furniture to safeguard against permanent indentations.

Related: Green Clean: Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products for Your Home When it comes to cleaning vinyl flooring, you can’t go wrong with plain water and a sponge mop! Always wipe up spills as soon as possible, and mop frequently with plain water. For more intensive cleaning, here are a few tips and techniques: • Always vacuum or dry mop the floor to remove surface dirt, dust, and hair before moving on to wet cleaning; make sure you get under furniture, in corners, and along baseboards. • One of the best cleansers for vinyl flooring is apple cider vinegar. The acidity in the vinegar helps remove dirt and grime without leaving a buildup of soap or wax. Simply mix one cup of cider vinegar with a gallon of hot water and use a damp mop to clean, rinsing the mop frequently with hot water. Substitute white vinegar for cider vinegar if you want to disinfect as you clean. If your floor is especially dirty, try adding a few drops of liquid dishwashing soap to the mixture before mopping once with the soap mixture, a second time with vinegar and water.

To add shine to your vinyl floor, add a few drops of baby oil to the vinegar and water solution. • For stubborn scuffs, try putting some WD-40 lubricant or jojoba oil on a towel and rub the area until the scuffs disappear. Clean thoroughly with the vinegar and water solution to remove any traces of lubrication. • For food stains from grape juice, mustard, ketchup, tomato sauce and the like, make a paste of baking soda and water and gently rub the stain until it disappears. Clean thoroughly to remove any traces of baking soda. • A soft, nylon-bristle brush can help remove many types of stains, especially when used with common household solvents. Rubbing alcohol can be used to remove lipstick, hair dye, and ink stains. Use mineral spirits to remove crayon, paint, and marker stains. Use a nail polish remover that contains acetone to remove nail polish stains. There are a few areas of caution and products to avoid when it comes to cleaning vinyl flooring: • When vacuuming vinyl, do not use a “beater bar” attachment;

this can damage the flooring surface. • Never use highly-abrasive scrubbers or steel wool. • Do not use detergents, abrasive cleaners, or “mop and shine” products, because these can leave a dull film on the floor.car vacuum cleaner price mumbai • Do not use paste wax or solvent-based polishes.carpet cleaning chicago rental • Do not use ammonia or ammonia-based cleaning solutions on vinyl flooring; robotic pool cleaner salethese can break down the material and cause cracks in the flooring.best carpet cleaner for pets pee Some commercial cleaners are specially designed for vinyl floors. steam cleaner reviews 2013

These include Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner; Pledge Tile & Vinyl Floor Cleaner and Pledge Tile & Vinyl Floor Finish with Future Shine; and Armstrong’s Once ‘n Done Resilient and Ceramic No-Rinse Floor Cleaner and Armstrong Shinekeeper Polish.best carpet cleaners in utah With just a little time and elbow grease, vinyl flooring will take years of use and abuse and still look lovely. For more on cleaning, consider: How To: Clean Slate How To: Clean Concrete How To: Clean Painted Walls There’s no way around it: Keeping the house clean demands your time, your energy, and even some of your money. Fortunately, this arsenal of cleaning tips can help you finish the housekeeping more quickly—and with fewer commercially sold products.The Graphics Fairy is a resource for Home Decorators and Crafters. Find over 5,000 FREE Vintage Stock images, Illustrations, Old Pictures, Antique Graphics, Vintage Printables, to MAKE craft projects, collage, DIY, scrapbooking, etc!

DIY and Craft Tutorials, and Home Decorating Ideas are offered as well. Daily vintage image downloads since 2007. Most are Jpegs, or PDFs, but there are some Vectors as well. As far as I know these are all Royalty Free Images that are in the Public Domain. However I cannot guarantee that. Please see my Faq page to find info on copyright laws in your country.Edit ArticleHow to Clean Vinyl Flooring Three Parts:Maintaining Your FloorDoing a Deep CleaningKnowing What Not to DoCommunity Q&A Vinyl flooring is a popular choice kitchens and bathrooms, since it's waterproof and easy to clean. Vinyl is an inexpensive floor covering that looks attractive and has a cushioned core, which makes floors more comfortable to walk on and warmer than tile or wood. With proper care and cleaning, your vinyl floor can look great and keep its original shine for many years. Vinyl flooring is prone to getting dirty and marked up, but you don't have to spend a lot of money on expensive cleaners. You may have everything you need for a shiny floor around your home already:

If you have vinegar, you can make a simple cleaning solution for everyday washing. If you have jojoba oil, you can add it to your cleaning solution for shiny floors. If you have dish soap, you can add it to your cleaning solution for tougher spots. If you have WD-40, you can use it to remove scuffs from vinyl flooring. If you have baking soda, you can use it to remove stains from wine or berries. If you have rubbing alcohol, you can use it to remove stains from makeup or ink. Use a doormat to keep the floor clean. The substances you track into your house on your shoes are damaging to vinyl flooring. Dirt, tiny pits of gravel, and chemicals from asphalt are abrasive to the vinyl, and over time will cause it to get scratched and yellowed. The solution is to wipe your shoes on a doormat, or, even better, take them off when you enter the house. Using throw rugs in spots that tend to get a lot of foot traffic is also a good idea. In the kitchen, for example, you might want to place a rug in front of the sink, where you might tend to stand when you wash vegetables or do the dishes.

Cleaning up dirt and dust as it comes is important, since when it accumulates it can end up getting ground into the floor as people walk through the room. Dirt and dust act as an abrasive and take the sheen off of vinyl flooring. Sweep every day to prevent dirt and dust from building up and becoming a problem. If you'd prefer not to use a broom, you could use a dry mop or vacuum to remove everyday dust and debris. Be sure to clean under your furniture, along baseboards, and under cabinets. Clean up spills right away. Use a simple vinegar solution for everyday washing. Vinegar is a totally harmless substance that lightly cleans vinyl floors to keep them looking fresh. As a general rule, you want to use the mild cleanser possible to do the job, since harsher cleanser are tougher on the flooring. To make a vinegar solution, simply mix a cup of apple cider vinegar with a gallon of hot water and use a mop to clean the floor. The acid in apple cider vinegar cleans the floor gently without leaving a residue, which is perfect for keeping vinyl in good shape.

As the cleanser dries, the smell of vinegar will fade away. If you want your floor to look shiny, add a few drops of jojoba oil to the mix. Be sure to pick the right commercial cleanser. If vinegar isn't for you, you could instead use a vinyl floor cleanser manufactured for this purpose. Just be sure you choose the right type of cleanser: No-wax cleanser is made for modern flooring that doesn't have a waxed surface. Cleanser for waxed floors is made for older vinyl flooring, which has a waxed surface that must stay intact. Use dish soap for deeper dirt. Remove scuffs with oil or WD-40. Vinyl flooring is infamous for getting scuffed, but luckily there's an easy way to remove them. Place jojoba oil or WD-40 on a soft cloth, and use it to rub the scuff marks. If the scuffs are simply on the surface of the floor, they'll rub right off. Scratches are deeper than scuffs, and they won't just rub away. You can clean the scratches so they're less noticeable, but if you want to get rid of the scratches entirely, you'll just have to replace the individual tiles they're on.

Use a baking soda paste on stains. Try rubbing alcohol for makeup or ink stains. Dab a soft cloth in rubbing alcohol and rub it over bathroom stains from makeup and other pigmented items. The alcohol will lift the stains from the vinyl without damaging it. To remove fingernail polish, try using acetone-free fingernail polish remover. Don't use polish remover that contains acetone, since this can damage vinyl. Scrub with a soft nylon brush. Rinse with clean water to remove residue. After you've cleaned all the stains away, rinse the floor so the residue doesn't sit there. Soap and other substances that build up on the surface of the floor will damage it over time. Don't scrub too hard. Using a stiff-bristled brush and scrubbing too hard will take the shine off of your vinyl flooring. It's important to use the softest possible material needed to remove dirt or stains. Never try to pry dried substances off the floor with a knife, since it will leave a permanent scratch.